Since 5.1, the Horde/Alliance war has been sparking up, political lines & alliances are being established, Wrathion's still playing both sides, and there's all sorts of unsettling implications surfacing about the mysterious seventh head of Y'Shaarj and the seventh Sha. Things are getting pretty intense over on Pandaria's distant shores.

As exciting as these new developments are, however, I can't help but look back to some of Cataclysm's intriguing, unfinished storylines. Initially, these stories were mostly forgotten, since we were busy learning about Pandaria, chilling with Loremaster Cho and the Klaxxi, and slaughtering thousands of Mogu. So many Mogu. So many.

But now that the revelations have slowed and both sides are back to their usual old shenanigans, it seems only natural to think back to some of those not-so-long-ago story hooks and wonder what's been going on behind the scenes.

The Lone Grimtotem

Magatha Grimtotem and her clan are in an interesting position right now. Sure, they've been exiled from the Horde, but they've also teamed up with the Alliance in Stonetalon, watched two long-time enemy cities get destroyed (Freewind Post and Theramore), and have started culling the incompetent and weak from their ranks, as well as started quietly gathering artifacts of ancient power, including the ominously-named Doomstone.

Cairne always kept Magatha close so he could watch her, and she still got up to a ton of mischief. She's now had an entire expansion away from watchful eyes, and worst, she's ANGRY now. No one really has any idea what the Grimtotem have been doing, or what kind of threat they might pose. Who knows what devious plans of revenge are running through Magatha's head?

Then again, have the Grimtotem been completely silent in Mists?

In your Pandaria travels, it's possible you might have encountered a certain rare spawn in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, one Yorik Sharpeye. Now, this guy is a pretty popular rare - a lot of people want to kill him for a chance at Mr. Smite's Brass Compass, a fun toy that turns you into the infamous boss of original-Deadmines fame.

But is there more to Yorik than meets the eye? Take another look at him. He has the typical Yaungol rare spawn movelist, except Yorik is a TAUREN. What's so special about that? Well, there ARE no tauren native to Pandaria! Not anymore. Lorewalker Cho revealed that the tauren who were trapped on Pandaria when it was shrouded in mists evolved and changed to become the Yaungol. Today, the only tauren that we know of on Pandaria are Sunwalker Dezco, Baine, and others that arrived on Pandaria with the rest of Garrosh's forces. You won't find any tauren strolling around unless they're members of the Horde.

Except Yorik, that is. What's up with him? And what is he doing on Pandaria? He's not friendly to Horde players (he's neutral), so he's not one of Baine's people. So who is he, and whose side is he on?

Oh, did I mention he has black fur? Just like Magatha and the res of her clan?

(Yorik also has a potential blood relative in-game, Bardu Sharpeye, a black-furred tauren hanging out at the Bulwark on the edge of the Western Plaguelands. However, Bardu has nothing to do Magatha, her clan, or piracy - or really anything except a never-implemented Ashbringer questline - so he's not relevant in this discussion.)

Adding to Yorik's mystery is his strange connection to Mr. Smite, another black-furred tauren who was also not a member of the Horde. Was Mr. Smite a Grimtotem? No one knows for certain, but it wouldn't be the first time one of Magatha's clan had turned to a life of piracy - another black-furred tauren, First Mate Hapana, shows up in Booty Bay on Pirate's Day. Interestingly, Hapana sports a rather conspicuous tattoo on his arm: the name "MAGATHA" in an arrow-pierced heart. Clearly there is a Grimtotem/pirate connection at play that we really don't know much about!

Is Yorik simply a stowaway tauren that wanted to travel to a new land and leave his old life behind? Or is he a spy, planted in Pandaria by his devious Elder Crone boss for surveillance purposes, to keep an eye on both the Horde and the Alliance? After all, he IS located in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, tucked out of the way between both the Horde and Alliance cities...the perfect place to see who's coming and going, while lurking unnoticed and unseen in the background.

Yorik being a Grimtotem spy would also be a sneaky way to work Magatha back into the picture, which I think is something that HAS to happen before the expansion is over. She's got HUGE unfinished business with Garrosh, and we all know what's in store for the Warchief coming up - it would be a great waste of lore to not have some resolution between the two. (Heck, maybe she's already involved.).

Regardless of specifics, Magatha's interference/influence/machinations could (and maybe should!) be a big factor in Garrosh's eventual downfall. He's losing allies, upsetting his own leader peers, and seemingly giving in to rash, foolish impulse decisions. What better time for Magatha to slither in and make things worse? That is the perfect situation for someone like Magatha to wreak havoc.

She's got the silver (and forked) tongue, the guile, and the intense motivation to utterly ruin Garrosh's life, humiliate him, and cause him to lose everything he cares about. Which would be the PERFECT revenge for the bitter Elder Crone.

I finally got around to doing post-Cataclysm Thousand Needles just recently. It makes me kind of nervous that Magatha has all these powerful ancient artifacts and, having released her from the Twilight nutters, we no longer know where she is. What *has* she been up to, all this time? But I don't want to just see Magatha show up as a boss in the Siege of Orgrimmar raid. I'd like to see some story buildup, some Grimtotem presence in the outside world, too.Oh, oh, even better -- we fight Magatha in the Siege of Orgrimmar raid, but she escapes and becomes a major villain in the next expansion!